


The Serpent King

by theredhoodie



Category: From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Blood and Gore, Graphic Description
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-29
Updated: 2014-10-29
Packaged: 2018-02-23 02:13:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2530223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theredhoodie/pseuds/theredhoodie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Let me tell you the story of the Serpent King...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Serpent King

**Author's Note:**

> Completely and totally random, inspired by that episode of Vikings where Ragnar kills Jarl Borg.
> 
> PS. Only lightly edited. Sorry for any mistakes.

“I’m going to tell you a story,” the mother said, smoothing her palm over daughter’s unruly hair.

The daughter snuggled closer and tilted her head back. “Why? Usually you just read me a book.” She’s ten and yet she’s not too old to say that bedtime stories were too old for her.

The mother crossed her ankles and hugged her arm around her daughter’s shoulders. “This is something I’ve been meaning to tell you, but I had to wait until you were old enough.” Some would argue—including the girl’s father—that she was still too young, that ten was much too young for the tale about to unfold. “You’re not afraid right?”

The daughter shook her head and folded her hands over the covers. “I know you’ll protect me.”

The mother smiled softly and took in a deep breath, her eyes turned toward the wall opposite her daughter’s bed. The wall was plastered with stickers of dinosaurs alongside puppies and bats. “Okay, it happened not too long ago. And it started with a boy.”

The daughter immediately interrupted. “Aren’t stories supposed to take place a long time ago?”

The mother shook her head. “Shhh. I’m the one telling the story.” She cleared her throat and began again. “It all started with a boy. He was just an ordinary human when he was born, and he had just one older brother. Together, they shared a bedroom and a house with their father, who drank a lot and hated his sons because their mother had left them when they were little children.

“Now, this boy, he was a lot smarter than anyone should be at his age. His brother was the strong one and he was the smart one. They’re what people call Irish twins.”

“Irish twins?”

The mother nodded. “They weren’t born at the same time. They’re born a year apart, but they think and act like they’re twins. So this boy, when he was young, decided that a father beating up his children wasn’t right. He set the living room on fire where his father was sleeping, grabbed his older brother and ran.”

“Aren’t there supposed to be heroes in stories, Momma?”

“Do you want me to tell the story or not?” The daughter mimed zippering her lips and the mother continued. “The boy grew up never fitting in. He was too smart for normal people to understand and he found them exhausting to be around. His brother, however, was constantly repaying him for getting them away from their father and he was always protective. They traveled to many homes but caused fights and trouble and were caught stealing things so they were moved around often.

“The brothers grew older and wiser and started to steal bigger things and started to not get caught. They got so good that they ran away and became the most notorious thieves in the entire country. They were the best at what they did and no one could beat them. The boy was grown up now, but he was still the brains and his brother was still the cool head and protector.

“But when the older brother fell in love and tried to find a new partner to work with, he was caught and thrown in jail. And the younger brother was left alone for five long years. But he was still exceptionally smart and he got his brother free. Because, they didn’t know it yet, but they were part of a prophecy. A prophecy about twin brothers who followed each other into the underworld to beat the dark gods at their own game and save the world and each other.

“Once the brothers were reunited, the younger brother was pulled south by a beautiful temptress. She made him question how sane he was, but the older brother was always there to keep him safe. And when they found the woman, she was in an ancient temple disguised as a place where the scum of the south all converge to watch half naked women dance for them. But the man never saw them, he only saw the woman, who was a queen in her own right, a demi-goddess.

“She tricked him into becoming what she was.”

“What was she?” the daughter couldn’t help interrupting.

“She was a girl who was cursed by the Nine Lords of Night. She was cursed with an overwhelming bloodlust and the ability to shift between snake and human form. She and her brethren were called culebra. They could turn humans into their kind if they were close to death, and she turned the younger brother into a scaly beast.

“Now, he wasn’t only smart but he was physically as powerful as anything. He had the blood of gods running through his veins. He pretended to love the goddess and she pretended to love him too, and together they used each other to get what they both wanted. She wanted freedom and chaos brought down on the Nine Lords and he wanted power and purpose.

“For a while, the older brother chased them down, ready to kill them both because they were unnatural creatures who needed blood to survive.”

“Like vampires.”

The mother made a face and shook her head. “No, not like vampires. Culebra are human souls infused with the spirits of snakes. They can transform their skin into scales and have retractable hollow fangs.

“Now, the younger brother and the goddess traveled far and wide, leaving a bloody trail of bodies and destruction in their wake. When the older brother finally caught up with them, it was time to fulfill the prophecy about the twins saving the world. The younger brother killed the goddess and inherited her ancient power, but he couldn’t save his older brother, who died in his arms, utterly human.

“The younger brother was now a king. He met with the council of the Nine Lords, who were nine culebra, one for each god. He told them that he was the king and he took his place with their heads on plates, cutting out the middle man and connecting directly with the Nine Lords’ powers.

“He was a brutal king, tormented by the labyrinth of his mind that was only soothed by soft souls who turned to shadows with his cancerous touch. He ruled over all of the culebra and he didn’t tolerate disloyalty or greed.

“He was known for performing ritualistic deaths to those who betrayed him. Not all betrayals could be executed so swiftly. The Serpent King’s most preferred and gruesome way to kill a traitor was taken from the Vikings of old and it’s called a blood eagle. Do you know what that is?” Of course her daughter didn’t, but she paused to ask the question anyway. “To perform a blood eagle, the person is put to their knees and their hands are tied to posts on either side of them, leaving their back open to his enemy. To the Vikings it was the Earl or the King, and here, it was to him, the Serpent King. It takes something puncturing the heart to kill a culebra, so this was a particularly painful endeavor for them.

“The king would take his special knife with a black blade and cut the skin down the spine of a traitor and rip it apart to the sides, revealing flesh and bones to the night air. He then broke and pulled the ribs one by one outward until they resembled spread wings. And then he would puncture their lungs and pull them through the ribs. The culebra stayed alive through of this, and the king would then sprinkle harsh salt into the wounds and let it fester and burn for days upon days until their screams fell silent and he killed them with a swift blow to the heart.”

The daughter was squirming under the blanket, not from being scared or squeamish, but because of excitement. Her mother had always been such a grand storyteller. “What happens next?”

“Next? Well, he serves for many years, until the hollow inside of him is too much to bear. But, since he was now directly fueled by the gods, he couldn’t kill himself no matter how hard he tried. So he resorted to something new. He saw a beautiful young woman one day. She glowed with so much light that she was painful to look at. He followed her for a long time, worried he would tarnish her soul. She noticed him following her and showed that she wasn’t as fragile as she seemed.

“She attacked him, but he stopped her and they both found themselves unable to kill the other or even think of harming each other. There began an uneasy friendship that soon swayed to something more. He didn’t hide who he was from her, and she appreciated his honesty and found herself wanting to save him. Not because she wanted to, but because he often spoke about being free of the Nine Lords.

“In the very same way he had to set the goddess free, the king had to go through a labyrinth of trials to prove he was worth to regain his humanity. The only thing that kept him strong enough to continue was the thought of being able to finally die a normal death.

“Within the trials, he almost failed, but he prevailed, especially when he broke the rules and was able to drag his brother from the underworld and outsmarted the gods at their own game. It was all prophecy, of course. The brothers both appeared from the labyrinth human. The younger brother had the sweet soul of the fiery woman and he had his brother by his side once again.”

The daughter was nearly bouncing now. This was definitely not a lullaby. “Is that it? What happened to all of them?”

The mother lifted her eyebrows. “Well, they had to deal with the now ungoverned culebra and three of them hunted for quite some time. It was bloody, tiring work and they all bore the scars emotionally and physically from years of it. And, while he was still human, the once-Serpent-King was still a target for the creatures.”

“Kate.” The warning voice came from the ajar door that was pushed open slowly by a rough hand. “Tell me you’re not spinning nightmare tales for Jenny again.”

The wife looked over at her husband and raised her eyebrows, shrugging a shoulder. “Who says they’re tales?” she said innocently. She got up from the bed and leaned back down to tuck Jenny into the covers.

“Wait, are you saying all that is true?” her daughter asked, all wide eyed and bushy tailed.

Kate smiled softly and lifted an index finger to her mouth, tapping it twice against her lips. “Shhh, don’t tell anyone.” She kissed Jenny’s forehead before turning off the lamp on the nightstand and ushering her husband out of the doorway.

“You’re gonna give her nightmares,” he said, voice low as if Jenny would overhear.

Kate rolled her eyes and just patted his chest. “She’s your daughter, she thrives on the bloody details.”

He just shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. “Oh sure, it’s all my fault.”

“You’re an easy target,” she said over her shoulder with a smirk before disappearing down the hallway.

 

**Author's Note:**

> MWAHAHAHAH.  
> But exactly which brother does Kate end up with? Literally, whichever you want.


End file.
